The number of confirmed cases and deaths from the outbreak in Sudan of the viral hemorrhagic disease known as Rift Valley Fever (RVF) continues to rise, the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) reported, but authorities are intensifying measures to try to contain the outbreak's spread. At least 329 cases of RVF have been confirmed as of Wednesday in three states in eastern Sudan, WHO said in its latest update, up from 228 cases reported a week ago. About 96 people have died, and increase of 12 in the past seven days. The outbreak so far has been confined to White Nile, Sinnar, and Gezira states, and WHO said the cases that have been reported in Khartoum state, which surrounds Sudan's capital, are not indigenous but were imported from one of the other three affected states. Transmitted by mosquito, RVF is a dangerous disease that affects both livestock and humans, but it is usually well-established in animal populations by the time the first human cases are observed. WHO, working with Sudanese and international organizations, has intensified efforts to contain the outbreak, but the agency called for greater measures to be introduced, taking advantage of all media, including television and radio, and the support of community and religious leaders, to ensure that at-risk communities are more aware of preventive actions.
